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Man killed by train while looking at lottery ticketNews Story
A man is dead after being struck and killed by a train near Buffalo, New York, while examining a scratch-off lottery ticket. Police say 48-year-old Ronald Wittenberg of Lackawanna did not respond to the train's blaring horn as it approached him from behind as he walked between the rails. Wittenberg was returning from fishing with a friend shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday. Police were told he had his head down and was examining the lottery ticket. Wittenberg died from massive head and inter
May 18, 2008, 9:47 pm - Lottery News

Ex-boyfriend charged with killing $5M lottery winnerNews Story
The world, or at least a small corner of it, was hers a year ago. Doris Murray, mother of four, had won $5 million in the Georgia Lottery on her 41st birthday. She posed for a photograph with big ceremonial check at the Amba Food Store in East Dublin, where she had bought her winning lottery ticket. And, according to a press release from the Georgia Lottery Corp., she declared This is the best birthday ever. On Monday, Murray was found dead in the same modest block home she had lived in on
May 9, 2008, 9:29 am - Lottery News

Lottery winner facing tax fraud trial diesNews Story
Editor's Note: A less in-depth news story about this lottery winner was posted earlier today: $13 million Florida Lotto winner dies a pauper Former lottery multi-millionaire Alex Toth, who was broke and facing tax fraud charges, has died at the age of 60. Toth was scheduled to go on trial in June, accused of filing fake tax returns with his wife, Rhoda, who has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. By the time the couple were charged in 2006, authorities said they appeared to have
Apr 25, 2008, 7:11 pm - Lottery News

$13 million Florida Lotto winner dies a pauperNews Story
A former Florida Lotto multi-millionaire has died nearly broke. Alex Toth's attorney says he was ill and still facing federal tax fraud charges when he died at age 60. The county health department says he died April 5 but a cause was not listed. Alex and Rhoda Toth won a $13 million jackpot in 1990. But the Pasco County couple say most of the money ran out years ago, spent on gambling, gifts and luxuries. They were charged in 2006 with filing false tax returns. Alex Toth was scheduled t
Apr 25, 2008, 2:37 pm - Lottery News

Mass. lottery winner dies in house fireNews Story
A New Bedford, Massachusetts, man who lived a modest life even after winning a $5 million lottery jackpot has died in a fire. Authorities say 85-year-old John Gonsalves Sr. died Thursday after being overcome by smoke in his home. The fire was determined to be accidental, most likely caused by smoking materials. Gonsalves won a $5.1 million Megabucks jackpot in 1994, yet he didn't let the fortune change his life. His son, John Junior, says his father enjoyed the freedom the money gave hi
Mar 25, 2008, 9:39 am - Lottery News

Killer of lottery winner convictedNews Story
Wife poisoned over squandered jackpot A Toronto-area doctor was convicted of poisoning his 66-year-old wife for squandering $5 million she won in a Canadian lottery, Toronto media reported. Sentencing was set for April 25 for gynecologist Joseph Roncaioli, 72, for the 2003 poisoning death of his 66-year-old wife, Ibi in July 2003, The Toronto Star reported Monday. The woman shared a $10 million jackpot with her hairdresser in 1991 and prosecutors told a jury northeast of Toronto in Newm
Feb 18, 2008, 2:29 pm - Lottery News

Lottery scammer who later won shot, killedNews Story
A Fort Lauderdale man who once went to jail for making fake lottery tickets and then won a million-dollar prize for real died from a gunshot wound. Anthony Soltys, convicted felon and instant millionaire, died as mysteriously as he lived. Soltys died Friday afternoon from a gunshot wound he received the night before in Fort Lauderdale. Police are searching for the person or persons that left him to die in the middle of Northeast Fourth Avenue, in the 1700 block. Soltys was taken
Jan 20, 2008, 12:22 am - Lottery News

Head of Turkish state lottery shot deadNews Story
The head of the Turkish state lottery was shot dead in his office by a former lottery employee on Friday, the state-run Anatolian news agency said. Lottery employees confirmed general manager Ihya Balak had been shot dead around 9:30 am (0730 GMT). They said police had sealed off the building. Private broadcaster NTV said the attacker, a former inspector at the state lottery, had shot Balak four times and had been detained by the police. It said the attacker had been the subject of an i
Nov 16, 2007, 7:21 pm - Lottery News

Heartbreak: Lottery scam led to NJ grandmother's suicideNews Story
A Jamaica-based lottery scam promising a $2.5 million windfall cost Ann Mowle her entire life savings of $248,000 before the 72-year-old grandmother from Monroe decided she had enough. Mowle donated her clothes to charity, left her beloved toy poodle Molly at a dog groomers and drove to Spring Lake on Oct. 31. A pair of fishermen found her body on the edge of a jetty at the Worthington Avenue beach the next day. Investigators determined Mowle's death was a suicide. Mowle's family blames
Nov 12, 2007, 11:16 pm - Lottery News

Cops say co-worker killed Lotto winnerNews Story
A burly Orange County, Florida, tree trimmer won $10,000 last month and some are saying it may have cost him his life. Employees found their crew boss dead on the floor with empty pockets Monday morning at Gator Tree Experts near West Fairbanks Avenue. Suspicions quickly focused on Dwayne Ricardo Smith, a missing co-worker with a history of violent crimes, according to Orange County sheriff's reports. Within hours, Smith's best friend began telling detectives about a night that began wi
Jul 11, 2007, 8:27 pm - Lottery News